Very often I am asked about life after the GROM. “What does a guy like you do in retirement? Don’t you miss all that adrenaline and heat?” I don’t like answering such questions, but I’m always impatiently waiting for a moment when I can take my backpack and simply go hiking.

I still have this habit from GROM that I plan each trip as if it was a military operation. My plans are always most detailed. From choosing the route to making sure I’ve packed every single item, such as black tape, knife and plasticuffs. No, I’m not afraid that such a detailed plan will make the trip loose its appeal and destroy my chances for adventure. I prefer to be prepared as well as I can, and adventures somehow always find me one way of another.

Besides, if you don’t study the timetables diligently, it might turn out that the journey to the Himalayas will take you much longer than planned.

The clothes of other passengers remind you that you’ve just changed a time zone and your cultural comfort zone. But it isn’t until you land in Kathmandu and realize that the only person that looks exotic is yourself that the journey really begins.